Profession: carriage conductor. Insider. Train conductor - about the romance of the road, total corruption and loneliness of Russian Railways employees How conductors of passenger cars work

Oh, road romance! The wheels tap peacefully, attractive landscapes flash outside the window, cities, and maybe even countries, change... You ride around the world or country, and they even pay money for it. Which travel lover has not found the job of a train conductor attractive? How is it really? What is the conductor's salary? How to become one? What are the responsibilities? If all this interests you, welcome to the article.

Average salary of a conductor

Let's immediately take the bull by the horns and deal with the most pressing issue. It is possible that after this section, most readers will not even want to delve further into the topic. So why languish?

The conductor's salary is hourly. According to Russian Railways rules, there is a limit on the number of shifts per month - 15, while the standard hours are 176.

The amount of payment depends on the category of the train (they pay more for work on international flights), season, distance, complexity of the flight, number of night trips, region and much more. There may be additional payments for length of service, direction, for fulfilling the sales plan, bonuses, and in some regions a regional coefficient is charged.

For 2017, the minimum payment is about 11,500 rubles, and the maximum that you can realistically count on is 33,000 rubles. If we talk about the average salary of a long-distance train conductor, it is just over 22 thousand rubles per month. Such data are provided for Russia.

If these numbers don't scare you, let's study the topic in more detail.

Benefits for Russian Railways employees

But the Russian Railways conductor does not live on his salary alone. Working in this structure is largely motivated by benefits. They are provided not only to conductors, but to all workers. There are several groups of benefits:

social;
labor;
on wages;
on labor protection;
social guarantees.

As you can see, there are a lot of them. We will not list everything; the full list can be found in specialized materials or directly when applying for a job; we will name only the most “delicious”.

Education (higher or retraining) is paid by correspondence. Free travel to and from your place of study is guaranteed twice a year.

Those in need of housing are allocated housing from the Russian Railways fund. There are assistance programs for young employees.

It is indexed annually (even twice in 2017), holidays are paid at an increased rate, and annual paid leave is provided (28 days).

Workers are paid for special clothing, medical examinations and medical examinations, travel and accommodation.

Young mothers are paid an additional benefit in addition to that provided by the Social Insurance Fund. They pay it up to 3 years.

The company partially compensates for the costs of:

treatment in sanatoriums;
teaching children;
sports activities for employees and their children.

Loans and subsidies with preferential terms are provided to those purchasing housing.

After retirement, employees remain entitled to a number of bonuses (subject to the required length of service). These include discounted travel, treatment, trips to a sanatorium and much more.

Agree that all this gives an increase to the conductor’s salary.

How to get a job as a guide

This is not difficult to do. The applicant must have at least a secondary education. Special training is also required, which can be obtained at a school, college or technical school in the direction of “Passenger Car Conductor”. There is an opportunity to take preparatory courses. A medical examination, passing exams on safety precautions and labor protection are also required; you also need to successfully pass testing and pass a competition.

For those who want to try themselves in this profession and find out how much conductors actually earn, there is the opportunity to become a temporary employee. Such recruitments are carried out every year during the peak period in the summer months, when additional trains are formed.

As you can see, there are enough requirements, despite the fact that the conductor’s salary, even with a heavy workload, is low. But nevertheless, only candidates who meet all the requirements and really want to work on the railway are accepted for this position.

Experienced people say that the profession of a Russian Railways conductor combines several things: you need to be a waiter, a loader, a cleaner, and a psychologist at the same time.

Requirements for a candidate

Work experience is desirable, but without experience it is quite possible to get a job as a second guide. A health certificate is also required.

To work on international flights, knowledge of a foreign language is required.

What are the responsibilities

Responsible for servicing passengers along the route: boarding and disembarking, checking tickets, issuing bed linen, selling tea, coffee, confectionery and souvenirs, etc.

It is also necessary to maintain train documentation, maintain the condition of the carriage in accordance with sanitary and hygienic requirements (cleanliness, heat and light, water, operation of all necessary equipment), ensure the safety of passengers along the way, including providing first aid, keep records of inventory valuables and inventory, as well as compiling reports for the train manager and much more. In addition, you still need to prepare the carriage for the road, and after the end of the trip, put it in order and hand it over.

For an uninitiated person, this profession looks simple and even primitive, but in fact it requires a huge amount of a wide variety of skills, because all sorts of situations happen on the road.

Disadvantages of the profession

The work of a guide is considered quite difficult both physically and emotionally. There are different people, conflict situations often arise, and the daily routine is irregular. In addition, there is a prolonged absence from home.

Advantages of the profession

The positive aspects include the fact that this is a job in a state-owned company, which in itself for many people is synonymous with stability and confidence in the future.

Career growth is possible, for example, up to, but in this case a higher education is required, as well as experience working in different sections of the railway.

The workers themselves cite the opportunity to see cities and meet a large number of people as a plus. The guides' shifts usually last 15 days, then the same amount of time is given to rest.

In a word, if you are attracted by the romance of the road, you are ready to withstand a wide variety of people in huge numbers, you want to work in a large stable company and you are not afraid of how much conductors receive for their hard work, maybe this profession is for you?

Conductor work Many people find it romantic - long-distance trains, different cities and random interlocutors. It’s not difficult to get a job here: Russian Railways accepts everyone with a secondary education, you just need to take preparatory courses. But the work is quite hard, and the salary is low. We asked a young man who dreamed of becoming a conductor and now works on a train, how he feels about his work, how much he earns and what he spends his money on.

How to become a guide
I was born in Biysk, Altai Territory, later my family moved to Moscow, where they lived for only a year and a half, but I really fell in love with this city. Then I had to travel a lot by public transport, and I really wanted to become a driver. Then we returned to the Altai Territory again. After the ninth grade, with a burning desire to become a driver, I entered the specialty “rolling stock mechanic, passenger car conductor, car inspector-repairman, operator” at the Novosibirsk technical school (since the family budget would not have been able to afford training in Moscow). I studied for four years, and in the summer of my second year I had the opportunity to try myself as a guide and earn extra money. After that, I lost all desire: there was a terrible team, it was unclear how they paid the money - in two months it came out to 47 thousand rubles. After studying, I was assigned to Russian Railways. Thanks to my good grades, I had a choice, and I chose the job of a passenger carriage conductor. In the future I want to move to Moscow.

In general, this is a job for people 35–45 years old who have extensive experience in another field. There are even special three-month courses for such people. To start working, a conductor needs to pass a medical examination, register with the human resources department, and pass occupational health and safety exams. You also need to pass a test with more than 250 questions. There you need to quickly and correctly calculate, remember numbers, solve a puzzle, and so on. It happens that some people do not pass it.

Features of work
The conductor must be able and know everything: seat the passenger, give him a set of linen, write him down on a strict reporting form, warn him 40 minutes before his departure, drop him off. Monitor the cleanliness of the cabin: clean the carriage at least twice per trip, and the toilet at least four times. It's like the Sims game where the characters have an indicator: if it's green, then everyone is happy. So are the passengers: I almost didn’t follow, and immediately became dissatisfied.

The conductor has many professions - for example, a loader, a waiter, a psychologist. Large thick bags of dirty laundry need to be carried into your compartment. You need to walk around with a tray and tell passengers that tea products and souvenirs are on sale. You also need to be a bit of an encyclopedia - at each station passengers ask: “What area are we in?” or “What river flows here?”, “What is the population of this city?” and so on. Sometimes you resolve a quarrel between passengers, or they come to talk on their own, because several days on a train are hard for them. Many passengers come up to me and ask about my work - whether I like it or not. In general, we can’t criticize our work, but I answer as it is, that I don’t get paid much and that you wouldn’t wish working as a guide to your enemy.

It's cold outside now, and the first thing passengers ask about is air conditioning. I had a case when in Rostov-on-Don passengers did not have time to board at the station, and only their 14-year-old son remained in the carriage. He didn't know the phone numbers. The head of the train contacted the station, the parents eventually went to catch up with the train by taxi, and paid 5 thousand rubles. And on our last trip, our locomotive caught fire between stations, the driver made an emergency brake, and all my dishes fell and broke. The passengers jumped up and began to panic. After 40 minutes we set off, although it seemed that the locomotive had not yet been extinguished: if there had been more downtime, the entire crew would have lost their bonus.

This is how I prepare for the trip: a day before departure, I go to the store to do some shopping. It comes out to about 3 thousand rubles, and so on twice a month. The next day at the appointed time (eight hours before the train departs) I arrive at the park for a planning meeting. I have a suitcase, a bag and a large bag of food with me. The planning meeting is attended by the head of the train, the instructor and the conductors with whom I will go on the flight. The head of the train scatters us among the carriages, usually in a boy-girl pair. I have been working recently, and all my partners are new to me. They also say what class we will travel in - reserved seat, compartment or SV. I loved the reserved seat, because all the passengers are visible, I know who and where, and it’s easier to get out. Then we go to the carriages; I am happy when I see that the carriage is new. We receive the carriage - we count the inventory, we receive cleaning products, garbage bags, soap, paper and goods that will be sold. But a team doesn’t happen every once in a while; sometimes people have more swear words than ordinary ones.

Then the head of the trip walks around the train and checks that everything is in order. We arrive at the station in an hour, and boarding begins 30 minutes later. I must be dressed strictly in uniform and be the face of the company. Now it gets dark early, and you still need to turn on the lights in time and switch from evening to night, adjusting to local time. The big minus is that on the road I eat very little, a lot of unhealthy food, and I lose weight (but for women it’s the opposite).

The one-way trip takes four days. The climate, time zone and passengers are changing. On the last day of the journey, the guides do a report and clean up. Upon arrival, we go to the shower, to the store for groceries, sometimes souvenirs, and on the same day we leave back with new passengers. But they shouldn't see our fatigue. Upon arrival, we also don’t sleep for a day: after all the passengers have disembarked, we start counting the inventory again; in case of a shortage, a certain amount can be deducted from the salary. If the train arrives at 09:45, then I get home at 15:45, if I'm lucky. All this time is not paid, only the travel time is paid.

Passengers' linen must also be returned; any shortage is also deducted from the salary. Then we go to the standardization officers, they schedule the next flight, name the date and direction. In a special regime (in the summer, when trains run every day), rest takes 30–50% of the time (for example, after an eight-day trip, three to four days of rest); in normal times, after an eight-day trip, seven to nine days of rest.

Salary and expenses
There was no way to rest in the summer: you sleep for two days, go to the store the next day, and then go on a trip. Now I have more rest, but there are fewer hours, so, accordingly, the salary is lower. Salary depends on the time spent on the road. In a good month I receive 34 thousand rubles, in a bad month - 14–17 thousand rubles. On average it comes out to 22 thousand rubles. In August I drove 222 hours - that’s 16,198 rubles plus a 20% coefficient and an advance for the previous month - 7,700 rubles. This amount does not suit me. I want to move to Moscow and become a metro driver.

My mother and I rent an apartment, and I pay half - 7 thousand rubles. I spend 6 thousand rubles on groceries for a trip. I also eat fast food, and when we come to a city, I buy souvenirs there. There is no opportunity to go to classes or the gym, and you can forget about healthy eating. Other expenses include transportation (500 rubles) and telephone payments. After this there is almost no money left. Last month I paid a lot of money for temporary registration. And I save the rest for something good; I have to pay at least 5 thousand rubles for the same clothes.

Working as a train conductor is a difficult but interesting profession. Many people have had this dream since childhood - to work as a conductor. The profession is steeped in romance and fantasy. Surely everyone has their own original story about the train conductor.

Any adult citizen, even those without higher education, can apply for this position. What kind of profession this is, why it is attractive and difficult, will be discussed further.

Qualities you need to have

To go to work as a guide, it is important to have certain personal qualities:

Advantages and disadvantages of the profession

A guide, like all professions, has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages include:

the need for the profession in society;
high on branded trains;
no age restrictions;
a large number of different benefits.

The disadvantages of the profession are:

Where and how to study

To find out about the vacancy of a train conductor, you need to contact the nearest branch of the railway station.

The passenger depot trains personnel to service the wagons. For the device, you must contact the HR department with documents. Typically the list of required documents includes:

passport;
certificate or diploma;
employment history;
a statement that can be written on the spot.

After the documents are accepted, an interview is scheduled with an HR employee or manager. During the interview, it is important to show yourself as an open, sociable person without bad habits. If it was possible to make such an impression and the candidacy was approved, the applicant is sent for training.

Train conductor training lasts three months, training is carried out daily, a full 8-hour day, except weekends. Once the training is completed, examinations are conducted. First, they are accepted. Then the future train conductor is sent to practice - on the first flight, paired with a qualified employee. During the voyage, the student keeps a diary where he records all the events of the journey. It will need to be submitted to the training center. After the trip, a final exam with tickets is taken. When passing the exam with a score of more than three points, the student is considered enrolled in the state.

At the end of the training, the conductor is given a certificate of completion of the course. In addition, to get a job you will need to undergo a medical examination and obtain a health certificate, as well as certification for occupational safety. All documents are provided to the HR department.

Career stages

Immediately after completing training, a train conductor has the third qualification category. And there are four of them in total. The first two are for the cleaners of the passenger train. The third and fourth are for guides. The fourth can be obtained after advanced training. Such conductors usually operate in

A train conductor can rise through the ranks to a higher level. To do this, you need a higher education or completing a course for foremen. Just below the foreman is the train mechanic, but this position is only for men.

There are also such career levels as shift manager and station manager.

Beginning of work

After training, the guide is ready to start working. He is given a special uniform, which must be kept clean and tidy. A photo of the train conductor demonstrates it.

At the beginning of the first work shift, the contractor forms a team. The guide may be asked which direction he prefers. Perhaps your wishes will be taken into account, but this is not at all necessary.

Flights are:

long-distance (more than 24 hours);
local (up to 12 hours).

The local train service schedule is 10 working days, then 10 days off. In long-distance carriages, the schedule is determined by the number of days on the trip.

Before the departure of the flight, a planning meeting is held, where the necessary documents are read out to the conductors and their readiness for the flight is checked. At the planning meeting, the teams are informed about the composition of the teams, given instructions, and asked to sign the necessary logs.

On flights crossing the border, the conductor needs a passport.

At the planning meeting, the conductor is assigned a carriage in which she will need to work. Once in his carriage, the conductor meets an employee there who has completed his shift and is about to go home. The carriage is being accepted. Every little detail is taken into account, because the conductor is personally responsible for the entire carriage.

At a certain hour, the conductor begins boarding. Here it is important for him to act strictly according to the instructions. If passengers express dissatisfaction, the conductor cannot meet them halfway, since he is limited by instructions.

You also need to be very careful when handling tickets. There are fines for any mistakes in the work, so it is in the interests of the conductor to comply with everything and be responsible.

Explorer functions

The work of a conductor includes two directions. The first is service work with passengers. This includes:

The second area of responsibilities is related to car maintenance. The conductor ensures the external and internal cleanliness of the carriage entrusted to him. The carriage is wet cleaned twice a day and the toilets four times. Garbage is removed. When the carriage arrives at the station, the conductor wipes the handrails and loads coal onto the train.
In winter, the conductors clear the carriage of ice and also defrost the toilet and washbasin using boiling water. Their responsibilities include maintaining the required temperature in the car.

The conductor has financial responsibility for all the property entrusted to him (dishes, bedding, all equipment for work), as well as for all breakdowns and damage in the carriage.

Wage

The level of a conductor depends on the number of hours worked. The standard for a month is 176 hours. In addition, odds, bonuses and other additions may be added. On average, a conductor earns from 10,000 to 25,000 rubles per month. In winter, the average salary is 15,000 rubles, in summer - 25,000 rubles.

There are also employees who manage to earn up to 55,000 rubles per month, but this is the exception rather than the rule.

Privileges

Despite the low level of wages and high workload at work, many strive to go to work on the railway. This is primarily due to the benefits that each conductor of long-distance trains has, and the conductors, of course.

These include:

free delivery from the depot to the station closest to your place of residence;
annual discounted round-trip rail travel for yourself and two minor children;
one round trip on your own road.

The trade union can award referrals for treatment, as well as a camp voucher for children. Conductors receive free medical care in special railway hospitals. In difficult situations, the company can pay for the employee’s treatment.

Every five years, good bonuses are provided for loyalty to the chosen cause. They can be 3-4 monthly salaries.

After 20 years of service or more, a conductor retiring also has the right to preferential railway travel.

If you are still interested in working as a train conductor, positions are always open, you just have to want it.

Dmitry Sofyannikov, who worked for several years as a passenger train conductor, shared on Twitter with the secrets of safe and comfortable travel.

Rules you need to know

Pets can be transported in compartment cars. And everything would be fine, but I once saw how a RACCOON was carried on a leash and walked at the stations.
Dmitry Sofyannikov

1. Nobody wants to remember that the maximum weight is 36 kg for one ticket in a reserved seat, and the sum of three dimensions should not exceed 180 cm. No, you must definitely enter with 19 bags, because “I’ll sort them out somehow.”

2. If you think that no one will know about smoking in the toilet, you are mistaken. The ventilation of the carriage is designed in such a way that all the air from the vestibule, toilet and oblique corridor is drawn into the conductor's compartment.

An information sheet is issued for caught smokers. The first such sheet is a fine of 1,500 rubles, and the ticket will indicate that you are a smoker; second - they simply won’t sell you a train ticket.

Vapers are a different story. You can’t vape in the carriage, just like you can’t smoke, but there are smart people who “it’s steam, not smoke, I don’t smoke.”

3. No matter how many warnings are written, people still throw paper into the dry closet. You are ruining your own life: such a toilet cannot be repaired on the road. And so, because of one passenger, the entire carriage suffers.

By the way, you can use the toilet during sanitary zones, but only if you need to wash your face, brush your teeth or shave. The conductor is obliged to stand nearby and watch that it is not used. However, if the child is impatient, they have no right to refuse, but in this case you cannot press the flush pedal.

4. If you decide to save money and not buy bed linen, your destiny is to lie on a shelf or walk around the carriage, because you cannot use a mattress without linen.

5. And here is the terrible secret of the whole Russian Railways: you don’t have to hand over your bed linen to the conductor when you get off at your station. And the conductor cannot force you to take him a set of underwear; at most, you can be ready to go out in half an hour.

6. The conductor is prohibited from letting people off at train stops of less than five minutes. Please be understanding. There’s no need for this “I’ll have a quick smoke.” This is a security issue, so be patient.

7. You can drink vodka on trains! But don't overdo it. A passenger who appears to the conductor to be too drunk may be disembarked. He also has the right, in principle, not to allow a passenger into the carriage if, in the opinion of the conductor, he is too drunk or is behaving inappropriately. Even if he had the most expensive ticket to the coolest place.

Safety precautions to follow

Parcels cannot be sent. Not at all. Even envelopes. An FSB agent planted a dummy bomb in the vestibule of my friend, disguised as a package of pills. I almost got fired.
Dmitry Sofyannikov

8. For heaven's sake, don't charge your gadgets from the sockets in the carriages! Most often, the wiring on trains is so-so, and if the iPhone does not destroy all the electrics in the car, then you will definitely ruin your battery. - our everything!

Although, in fairness, it should be said that the iPhone is not so scary. That's when they insert an extension cord into an extension cord, and several laptops are in it - this is already dangerous. Conductors usually stop this.

9. If the carriage caught fire at speed, it would take five minutes. Observe fire safety.

10. There is always a first aid kit in the train carriage. It contains bandages, gauze, plaster, gloves, iodine, but no medicine. Therefore, always check before your trip whether you have taken all the pills you need, and do not waste money on it.

11. The conductor is obliged to provide first aid to a passenger who becomes ill. This is something they are specifically taught to do, so don’t be shy about asking. At the nearest large station, doctors will already come to the carriage and conduct a professional examination.

12. The conductor should release the stop valve only if the lives of passengers are threatened. In all other cases, a fine of about 5,000 rubles is imposed. And even a minute of train downtime on the tracks costs a pretty penny.

13. It is safe to sleep on the top bunk. To fall from it, you have to really want it. For children, ask the conductor for safety belts and lift the special iron limiter on the edge of the shelf.

14. Safety precautions are not an empty phrase. Although this is monitored, accidents occur every year with both passengers and conductors. So be careful and listen to the guide. All instructions on the railway are written in blood.

The comfort we deserve

In the summer, you can travel long distances very cheaply in good carriages. Discounts on the top bunk in a compartment are up to 50%, you can save money and save yourself from reserved seats, grannies and constant walking around the carriage.
Dmitry Sofyannikov

15. The third and fifth compartments are emergency exits; the windows there do not open. Therefore, in the summer it is unbearable there, and nothing can be done if there is no air conditioning. Keep this in mind if you are planning to travel far.

16. The air conditioning in the carriage is connected to a generator, which starts working only when the train picks up speed above 30 km/h. That is why a trip along the Black Sea coast (four hours at a speed of 30–35 km/h and stops) turned into hell.

In general, when it comes to air conditioning, the conductor is always on the side of the passengers. They are the same people who travel in the same conditions as you. If the conductor says that the air conditioner is not working, then he is not lying.

17. In new carriages the conductor has a small one. He is obliged to carry baby food in it if asked, but you can agree to put something else in it.

But in old carriages there are pockets in two vestibules for storing coal. The temperature there is lower than throughout the train. If you are carrying, for example, fish, you can also negotiate with the guide.

18. The side of the toilet has an advantage that outweighs all the disadvantages - you are always the first to go to the toilet in the morning.

19. Some trains have a service - a shower in the headquarters car. Costs 100–250 rubles.

20. And most importantly: conductors are the same people as passengers. If you treat them humanely, then your trip will become more comfortable.

The Village continues to find out how the personal budget of representatives of different professions works. In the new issue - the conductor of a passenger carriage. The work of a conductor seems romantic to many - long-distance trains, different cities and random interlocutors. It’s not difficult to get a job here: Russian Railways accepts everyone with a secondary education, you just need to take preparatory courses. But the work is quite hard, and the salary is low. We asked a young man who dreamed of becoming a conductor and now works on a train, how he feels about his work, how much he earns and what he spends his money on.

Profession

Conductor

average salary

22,000 rubles

Spending last month

7,000 rubles

renting half an apartment in Novosibirsk

2,000 rubles

temporary registration

500 rubles

phone payment

6,000 rubles

products

2,000 rubles

souvenirs

2,000 rubles

500 rubles

transport

2,000 rubles

savings

How to become a guide

I was born in Biysk, Altai Territory, later my family moved to Moscow, where they lived for only a year and a half, but I really fell in love with this city. Then I had to travel a lot by public transport, and I really wanted to become a driver. Then we returned to the Altai Territory again. After the ninth grade, with a burning desire to become a driver, I entered the specialty “rolling stock mechanic, passenger car conductor, car inspector-repairman, operator” at the Novosibirsk technical school (since the family budget would not have been able to afford training in Moscow). I studied for four years, and in the summer of my second year I had the opportunity to try myself as a guide and earn extra money. After that, I lost all desire: there was a terrible team, it was unclear how they paid the money - in two months it came out to 47 thousand rubles. After studying, I was assigned to Russian Railways. Thanks to my good grades, I had a choice, and I chose the job of a passenger carriage conductor. In the future I want to move to Moscow.

Features of work

The conductor must be able and know everything: seat the passenger, give him a set of linen, write him down on a strict reporting form, warn him 40 minutes before his departure, drop him off. Monitor the cleanliness of the cabin: clean the carriage at least twice per trip, and the toilet at least four times. It's like the Sims game where the characters have an indicator: if it's green, then everyone is happy. So are the passengers: I almost didn’t follow, and immediately became dissatisfied.

The conductor has many professions - for example, a loader, a waiter, a psychologist. Large thick bags of dirty laundry need to be carried into your compartment. You need to walk around with a tray and tell passengers that tea products and souvenirs are on sale. You also need to be a bit of an encyclopedia - at each station passengers ask: “What area are we in?” or “What river flows here?”, “What is the population of this city?” and so on. Sometimes you resolve a quarrel between passengers, or they come to talk on their own, because several days on a train are hard for them. Many passengers come up to me and ask about my work - whether I like it or not. In general, we can’t criticize our work, but I answer as it is, that I don’t get paid much and that you wouldn’t wish working as a guide to your enemy.

Salary and expenses

There was no way to rest in the summer: you sleep for two days, go to the store the next day, and then go on a trip. Now I have more rest, but there are fewer hours, so, accordingly, the salary is lower. Salary depends on the time spent on the road. In a good month I receive 34 thousand rubles, in a bad month - 14–17 thousand rubles. On average it comes out to 22 thousand rubles. In August I drove 222 hours - that’s 16,198 rubles plus a 20% coefficient and an advance for the previous month - 7,700 rubles. This amount does not suit me. I want to move to Moscow and become a metro driver.

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